Serb Cousins Share Same Strange Attraction

David Petrovic, 4, stands in his garden in Serbia as silverware sticks to his chest.

First Posted: 09/16/11 09:01 AM ETUpdated: 11/16/11 05:12 AM ET

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GORNJI MILANOVAC, Serbia &mdash (AP); Serb cousins David and Luka are poles apart from other kids, for when it comes to metalwear everything sticks.

The two boys from the central Serbian town of Gornji Milanovac have the rare ability to attract metal objects, acting much like human magnets.

Sanja Petrovic, the mother of 4-year-old David, said it first came to her attention "about a month ago."

"I asked him to fetch me a spoon so I cold feed his little brother, and he yelled back: 'Mom, it sticks!'" Petrovic recalls.

"I found him with several spoons and forks hanging from his body."

Terrified, the 26-year-old woman phoned her sister, who discovered that her son, Luka, 6, has the same attraction.

"Other kids in the family can't do this, just the two of them," Petrovic said.

The phenomenon is rare and so far medically unexplained. Several similar cases, however, have recently been reported in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia.

"As far as I know, there is no medical or scientific explanation," said radiologist Mihajlo Dodic, who runs a practice in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. He said the cousins' magnetism borders on the "paranormal."

Luka's father, Slavisa Lukic, said doctors have examined the boys, and announced them to be perfectly healthy, adding that they should be monitored as they grow up.

"Nobody can tell us why this is happening," he said.

David's mother said her son loses his magnetic powers when he is asleep, but regains them when he wakes up and starts moving.

When he plays with his friends "anything will stick to him," she said. Afterward he will feel a little chilly and tired, she said.

Both David and Luka are happy to put on a show for to visitors. On cue, the boys proudly smile and raise their hands in the air to show that cutlery and plates stick to their bodies without assistance.

The rest of the family also seem to have grown accustomed to the peculiarity and the attention.

"It was in shock at first, but now we just try to keep the knives away from them," Petrovic says.

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